schizophrenia..........................just how genetically passed on can it be????????

[psychomum5]

many of you may know that my mother is schizophrenic, and how much I fret over it.

anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

a friend has started going on about her neighbour, who is 'bipolar', and her neighbours daughter, who is 17 and apparently also now DX with 'bipolar'.

the reasons for my '' marks is that my friend has heard that schizophrenia is now called 'bipolar' (not as far as I know) and that is 100% hereditary.

I thought not, altho I did know that if there is mental illness in the family you are pre-disposed to it, in the same way as allergies and cancer..........IE, you may get it, you may not, the % is higher tho. (IYGWIM).

I am just fretting tho, even more now. is this true, or is she reading it wrong.

or am I in denial thro sheer terror

I am really low today, and I think it is that what my friend has claimed is playing on my mind.

I am not bouncy, I am scared, and most scared for my children.

((probably completely irrational, but it is nearing visiting time with my mother and I get like this.......cannot stop it tho))

potpourri.....thing is, she knows!

she thought it would interest me and that it could help me in some way.

and then she told me just how awful it all is witnessing her neighbour 'going off on one'.

I know how that is, I have seen it with my mother......no need to share thankyou, even if you are trying to help!!!

((I know she was not doing unkindly.....she was probably just thinking I would be interested!))

bpad does not necessarily have psychotic features (it can),it is a mood disorder characterised by behavioural/mood swings.some people can be predominately high never go low and conversely some people go low not high.ICD -10 requires two episodes of mqnia or hypomania before formal diagnosis

schizophrenia is characterised by psychotic features eg auditory hallucination, intrusive feeling thought

two distinct and seperate iphenomea. your mate is talking nonsense and unnecessarily upsetting you

any formal diagnosis is based on personal,social history,medicah Hx full narrative not yer mate opinion

Alcoholism. It comes under dual diagnosis, often they if the alcohol came before the psychosis (causes it) or if the psychosis came first. So they put it under dual diagnosis. www.rethink.org/about_mental_illness/dual_diagnosis/index.html

alcohol/illicit drugs can exacerbate a psychotic episode in particular skunk and schizophrenia link has been well researched

yes scottishmummy, but isnt it unclear at times wether extended drug/alcohol misuse has led to the MI rather than as a symptom of.

Nature Vs nurture because that is big research question.no definitive evidence. lots of good research though

just been reading the link given by lollipop.

it says there that alcohol and drugs can trigger an episode in those succeptable to the illness, but not cause it directly.

but there does seem to be a genetic link, altho not high I admit!

and it is normally becoming apparent in late teens/early 20's.

go see GP/psych not a strangers on MN.end of day you need face to face Ax.MN cannot do this

I know MN cannot do that. I just wanted advice really.

it is not really something my GP can help with. they do not have the ability to read my mothers records, and to reassure me they need more than just what I can ask/tell them.

and seeing psych......, I would rather see if there are any mental health nurses here that can tell me more about it. typing my questions/fears are easier than trying to vocalise them IYGWIM.

and TBH, when I get like this (all scared and jittery about my mum), and try to see soemone, I am past it all and so what can I say, they do. sit there and me just say 'ach, that was a bad day, I am fine now tho'.....

they would get bored of me!

A member of my extended family has Schizophrenia. His mental ill health was first diagnosed when he was having manic episodes and I think there was some confusion at the time about whether it was Manic Depression or Schizophrenia, which is perhaps where the confusion is as both illnesses can involve mania. His family believe that his illness was triggered by Cannabis use. It's not good to drink or take drugs while your brain is still growing in teenage years in case you are susceptible to such illnesses.

I understand there can be a genetic or nurture family component but as, others have said, the statistics are not that significant. I read that stress in pregnancy can also affect the foetus and increase the chance of mental ill-health in later years - something which worries me as I had a very stressful pregnancy. But again, the statistical connection is only slight AFAIK.

your GP is a skilled practitioner with potential access to archived notes,counselling skills and day to day exp of mental illness

more so than bunch strangers on-line.nothing better than face to face Ax and discussion.by all means use internet as information tool but NOT diagnostic

nothing can compare yo face to face Ax,history, and discussion

Am not an expert in these things but I do have a friend who developed manic depression/bipolar disorder in his 30s after sustained use of cannabis - but his paternal aunt had a history of mental illness and so he had a genetic susceptibility already; so this coupled with his cannabis habit probably triggered the bipolar.

There are possible dietary links in terms of fatty acid metabolism - it has been postulated that excessive turnover of fatty acids in cell membranes might be linked to certain mental disorders - this is due to an overactive enzyme called phospholipase A2. This has a genetic basis but does not mean that you will definitely inherit a disorder, merely that you are more susceptible to it. A diet that contains adequate amounts of good essential fatty acids could go some way to helping prevent the triggering of any such disorder; and low quality diets, including excessive use of alcohol or recreational drugs, could enhance the genetic potential.

Overactive phospholipase A2 is just one possible cause of mental disorders, there are others (e.g. brain trauma, nervous breakdown through extreme stress).

HTH

are you a registered dietician ThumbWitch?have you worked in clinical practice

not relevant as am not RECOMMENDING anything, just offering info.
CAn read research with the best of them e.g. here

indeed.but diagnostics and clinical rapport are a face to face activity.essentially OP questions best resolved by registered practitioner

dietetics is a registered HPC profession,and protected title.Nutritionist is not a protected title anyone can use title "nutritionist" without registration or professional qualification

anyone seeking a degree or MSc qualified dietician should look on HPC registration enter surname and look under dietician

many quacks in nutrition inc Patrck holford, "Dr" (ahem bought on internet) McKeith. jsut google bad science

who said anything about a nutritionist? Professor Basant K. Puri is both a medical practitioner, working as a consultant at Hammersmith Hospital in London, and a senior scientist, working at Imperial College London. He is head of the Lipid Neuroscience Group at Imperial College and is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed medical and scientific papers and over 20 books.

WHY are my questions best answered by a GP???

they have a time limit and the Q's are about my mother.....in what way can they answer Q's, about my mother, whom they have no knowledge about, in a 5/10min timeframe???

I just came here for a little bit of reassurance as I was confused about something my friend had said. ON top of that I have visits to my mother looming, my aunt feeding her her usual tripe about it all, and I am feeling low and vunerable, all normal for me at this time. I am used to it, I have this every year, and there is nothing that a GP or a person who has knowledge can answer me that I cannot find on MN with women who may actually be able to tell me thro their own knowledge. the knowledge here will be as good, if not better, than any GP IMO. not least as many women here are far far far more compassionate than a male GP or keyworker. at least women can empathise a little more (IME at least).

telling me to go to a GP is brushing me off I feel.......there feels to be no care, just " you are too damaged to answer, go away". you may not be saying that at all, but it feels like that.

I am not after a DX, my mother has that, I just wanted to know 'is my friend right in what she says, and how high is the %risk of mental illness being passed along the family?'

I can get that here, with some sympathy and reassurance, a lot quicker than waiting weeks for a booked appointment when my 'wobble' is by then a distant memory

oh, and thumbwitch....thankyou

your welcome petal! any time.
hope you are feeling less wobbly today

GAH! your You're

I am.

had to drive to aouthampton hosp yesterday, which I have to do on my own (part of my CBT stuff with driving issues), but it gets me really really down and I hurt (physically ache all over), and then this on top.......lots of rantiness came out.

I will be wobbly tho for the next month, tis normal for me, but I get cross with myself becuase as much as I know why I am like it, I cannot stop it IYGWIM.

at least here I can vent a little and get my thoughts into something coherant (well, pretty much), and then get an answer so I know I am not completely mad!!

but, sun is shining, no school runs (altho I do have dancing runs to do), and DH is at work and so I dn;t have him cluttering the place up.

lol at you and your 'pedantness'.........I fail miserably at spelling all the time and so never really notice

There is a really good book I'm reading, called Bowen Family Therapy, (I think) - has a whole chapter on schizophrenia. And rest of book is about all the relationship dynamics that go on within a family. Is FASCINATING, well worth a read. Got an old edition from amazon for about £4.